Temember the thread about passengers "of size" ?

[wvjules]

Wow, If they let him on the plane and they saw how big he was where is the airline responsbility? How in the world would you know that you need two seats If you had never flew before? On the other hand the airline should have know he was two big for one seat

If you are that big you KNOW that you need 2 seats, previous flight experience or not.

 

[MiniGirl]

2. He's sitting ON the armrests. He's damaging property by not sitting on it properly and for how long? Sheesh.

We were posting at the same time!! LOL!!

 

[sbell111]

From what I understand the guy in the middle seat was taken from the flight and upgraded on the next flight. (and maybe there is more to this...) Should the gentlemen that did not fit in his seat have been removed first? After all the guy in the middle fit in his seat, and should not have been inconvienienced due to the airlines improper handling of the situation at the start?

I doubt that the middle seat guy was involuntarily bumped from the flight. It's much more likely that they made him an offer of first class on the next flight (and probably some sort of voucher against future travel) for his giving up his seat.

It should also be noted that I don't take from this pic that the large man was doing anything wrong. It appears that he is simply sitting on the seat's armrest until a resolution was obtained.

Many times, 'oversized' people will buy a single ticket for a flight and not be required to buy an extra seat unless the flight is full. Assuming that this is that airline's formal or informal policy, the passenger really didn't do anything wrong. The agent working the ticket counter or gate should have recognized the situation and handled it.

Also, I think that the FA should be disciplined for taking pictures of passengers and posting them online. While it's true that this is not against the law, it should not be acceptable.

 

[Mrs.Toad]

The man and the airline employees who let him on were both wrong in this situation. He should've bought two seats. They should have made him buy two seats.

The picture was taken in public, from the back, no privacy issues from my point of view. Anyone who knows him already knows how large he is, it's not like they're going to be surprised by that. If anything, the picture shows that he is being considerate, trying not to encroach on the man next to him and instead risking an enormous wedgie by sitting on the armrest for who knows how long.

 

[It'sWDW4me]

Wow, If they let him on the plane and they saw how big he was where is the airline responsbility? How in the world would you know that you need two seats If you had never flew before? On the other hand the airline should have know he was two big for one seat

I did say that the airline should not have even let him board knowing that he had purchased only one seat.

Again, I am a large person. When you're a person of size, you know what you can and what you can't fit into because you deal with this on a daily basis. I no longer go to a local, older theatre because I no longer fit comfortably in the seats. I'm positive that this guy knows that he can't fit into one seat in any public venue. Unless he lives under a rock, he also had to have heard or read about complaints of cramped airline seats. 1 + 1 = 2. "I have trouble squeezing into public venue seats; people smaller than me are complaining about cramped aircraft seating; maybe I should talk to someone (airline personnel, travel agent, etc) about my options for a comfortable flight"

 

[Cinderella94]

Wow, If they let him on the plane and they saw how big he was where is the airline responsbility? How in the world would you know that you need two seats If you had never flew before? On the other hand the airline should have know he was two big for one seat

He would know. Common sense.

Let me start this off by saying that I am Pooh sized. Nowhere NEAR this guy but I'm not thin by any stretch of imagination. IMHO:

1. this guy's rights were not compromised by putting this pic on the net. This is from the back; nothing identifying his name, address, face, etc; was published as far as I know. Yes, he knows it's him. His family and friends know it's him. Is he embarrassed? Again, IMHO, too bad - he SHOULD be. He had to have known that a person of his girth would not fit in an airline seat. Can he fit in a regular seat at a movie theater? I think probably not. He should have purchased two seats or one in first class and he wouldn't have been photo'd and he wouldn't be embarrassed.

2. He's sitting ON the armrests. He's damaging property by not sitting on it properly and for how long? Sheesh.

3. Safety hazards galore: how can the flight attendents squeeze through the aisle past him? How would that affect the timeliness of them getting to someone experiencing a medical emergency when every second counts? What if equipment were needed in said emergency - how would that get past him? What if there is extreme turbulence? With him sitting on the armrests how well could the seatbelt (extended and not in proper use with the air pocket between his bottom and the seat) restrain him from being dumped to either side - he'd crush someone! What if there was an emergency landing? How long would it take him to squeeze up the aisle to the emergency exit? How many people behind him wouldn't make it to the emergency exit because it took so long for him to get there - if he made it at all?

4. He's affecting the comfort of the passengers around him. That poor guy sitting next to him - 'nuf said! How is the beverage cart supposed to get past him to the front of the plane?

No, I don't sympathize with this guy at all. It's completely his business how large he is. I have no problem with that. But I do have a problem with arrogance, stupidity, a sense of entitlement, whatever you want to call it. He should have bought two seats or not have been allowed to board.

ITA. He should not have been allowed to board, but he should have purchased two tickets so it never would have been an issue.

 

[ogreenlee]

I assure you that the topic of being too big for one seat comes up quite often with airline crew. With the recent event of the man being restricted from coming onto the SW plane, this FA probably took the photo to prove that it's not just a small inconvenience.

 

[happygirl]

He would know. Common sense.



ITA. He should not have been allowed to board, but he should have purchased two tickets so it never would have been an issue.

I would have no idea if I needed to seat on a airplane

 

[Cinderella94]

... this FA probably took the photo to prove that it's not just a small inconvenience.

I agree...it wasn't taken just to poke fun at him.

 

[sbell111]

Let me start this off by saying that I am Pooh sized. Nowhere NEAR this guy but I'm not thin by any stretch of imagination. IMHO:

1. this guy's rights were not compromised by putting this pic on the net. This is from the back; nothing identifying his name, address, face, etc; was published as far as I know. Yes, he knows it's him. His family and friends know it's him. Is he embarrassed? Again, IMHO, too bad - he SHOULD be. He had to have known that a person of his girth would not fit in an airline seat. Can he fit in a regular seat at a movie theater? I think probably not. He should have purchased two seats or one in first class and he wouldn't have been photo'd and he wouldn't be embarrassed.

You might note that he's making no attempt to sit in a seat. He is simply waiting until the issue is resolved.

It should also be noted that we don't really know that he didn't buy a second ticket. We only can assume that no second seat was assigned. Perhaps he paid for two, but the ticket counter didn't assign them both because the gate agents were expected to work the oversale to get him his second seat.

2. He's sitting ON the armrests. He's damaging property by not sitting on it properly and for how long? Sheesh.

How long? Until airline employees resolve the issue. Obviously, the flight can't depart without him buckled in, so the issue will be resolved within the next few minutes.

I truly hope that the armrest of an airline seat can withstand him sitting on it for a few minutes. It's certainly going to recieve much more abuse than that during the aircraft's lifetime.

3. Safety hazards galore: how can the flight attendents squeeze through the aisle past him? How would that affect the timeliness of them getting to someone experiencing a medical emergency when every second counts? What if equipment were needed in said emergency - how would that get past him? What if there is extreme turbulence? With him sitting on the armrests how well could the seatbelt (extended and not in proper use with the air pocket between his bottom and the seat) restrain him from being dumped to either side - he'd crush someone! What if there was an emergency landing? How long would it take him to squeeze up the aisle to the emergency exit? How many people behind him wouldn't make it to the emergency exit because it took so long for him to get there - if he made it at all?

None of those questions matter, since the aircraft cannot depart the gate without him safely buckled in.

4. He's affecting the comfort of the passengers around him. That poor guy sitting next to him - 'nuf said! How is the beverage cart supposed to get past him to the front of the plane?

The passenger sitting next to him doesn't seem put out, at all. In fact, he's actually leaning in his seat toward the man.

Again, the beverage cart will not be out until after the aircraft takes off. They cannot even leave the gate until all passengers are safely belted in.

No, I don't sympathize with this guy at all. It's completely his business how large he is. I have no problem with that. But I do have a problem with arrogance, stupidity, a sense of entitlement, whatever you want to call it. He should have bought two seats or not have been allowed to board.

On full flights, he certainly should have bought two seats. Of course, we don't know that he didn't. We also don't know whether an agent advised him that the flight was full.

At the end of the day, this fubar was caused by the airline, not the passenger.

 

[Planogirl]

It's interesting because this seems like a no-win situation. Assuming the photo is real, you can clearly see the problem in this case when some larger people purchase only one seat. Yet there will be those who howl in indignation when someone is asked to buy two seats.

So what's the solution?

 

[ICF]

pity the poor guy sitting next to him.

Middle seats suck in general, as someone who is very tall I always try to get an aisle seat, and I couldn't imagine being seated next to someone that large on a flight.

 

[RNMOM]

I think this is really sad that this photo got out there.

As a very 'pooh sized' person, I always buy two seats when we fly. It's pretty simple to do, you just pay for the extra seat.

I don't like the extra cost but it is my responsiblity to be the way I am and I realize I don't like my personal space invaded and I don't do that to others.

 

[wvjules]

I would have no idea if I needed to seat on a airplane

If you don't fit in movie theater, stadium, or most other public venue seats then you probably need a second seat in an airplane. Its not rocket science.

 

[disykat]

If this picture had been taken of the man sitting in two seats for the purpose of "look at that guy so big he takes two seats" I would have agreed it was inappropriate.

That is not what this was. This was proof that that guy was being a total jerk not buying two seats and proof to people that this IS an issue. IMO, this picture needed to be posted all over the internet. There are clearly people on the DIS that don't get how this could be an issue every time this comes up - maybe they get it now.

 

[ogreenlee]

I would have no idea if I needed to seat on a airplane

I would assume that you've been to Disney World. Can you ride everything?

 

[Mrs.Toad]

I would have no idea if I needed to seat on a airplane

I could see where someone wouldn't know if they were real borderline, but this guy is large enough that he would have to know.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

For whatever reason the photo was taken, it did not need to be disseminated to the general public.

And if you are not entitled to privacy when in public, why was Pete always so concerned about threads that showed unflattering pictures of people in WDW? Yeah, I get it's his board his rules... but I'm sure he was concerned for a reason. Doesn't matter if it's legal or not, it's all about perceptions and I sure wouldn't be too happy if I knew an airline (or airline employee) might be taking pictures of me to post online and say some not-so-flattering things about me.

 

[happygirl]

I would assume that you've been to Disney World. Can you ride everything?

Yes I can

 

[MiniGirl]

If this picture had been taken of the man sitting in two seats for the purpose of "look at that guy so big he takes two seats" I would have agreed it was inappropriate.

That is not what this was. This was proof that that guy was being a total jerk not buying two seats and proof to people that this IS an issue. IMO, this picture needed to be posted all over the internet. There are clearly people on the DIS that don't get how this could be an issue every time this comes up - maybe they get it now.

Now, wait a minute. This picture does not prove that he was being a jerk. It also doesn't prove that he didn't buy 2 seats. It could be that he did, but was assigned seats that weren't together. (Yes, I've had that happen before as well.) It would be in the airline's best interest to allow the larger passenger to remain on the flight and get the other guy on to the next flight. That way this plane technically goes out full (presumably), and then you only have to find 1 seat on the next flight. If the larger person was removed, you'd have to still find 2 seats together to accomodate him.